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BY RHICK LARS VLADIMER ALBAY
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‘Little brown brothers’ no more
ON Thursday, I attended a screening of Bontoc Eulogy at Cinematheque Iloilo. A 1995 mockumentary told entirely in black and white archival footage, it narrated the story of a Filipino expat exploring his Igorot heritage, searching for the body of his indigenous ancestor Markud.
Loosely based on true events, Markud, along with 1,100 other Filipino tribal native, was brought to America by colonizers to be exhibited during the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. These indigenous peoples were “exported” from the Philippines to be displayed like zoo animals as America’s new discoveries, their “little brown brothers from the Philippines.”
Dubbed “primitive” and “uncivilized,” the tribes people were kept in inhumane conditions, and for nearly six months required to perform their cultural dances and rituals daily for curious white festival-goers to gawk at and stare in amazement.
Bontoc Eulogy reveals Markud was one of those who never made it back home alive.
These themes of indigenous heritage and colonialism cut true to this day, as among our country’s oldest wounds, especially with the frayed diplomatic ties between the United States and the Philippines, as well as the continued maltreatment of the national minorities.
Recently, during a forum in Washington DC, Foreign Affairs secretary Perfecto Yasay dropped this politically charged statement: “At the core [is our] struggle for independence and our right to self-determination … I’m asking our American friends, American leaders to look at our aspirations. We cannot forever be the little brown brothers of America.”
Striking a nerve, Yasay’s plea gave a call-back to the derogatory label bestowed upon us by our American colonizers, back when they treated Filipinos as lesser people, “primitive” and “uncivilized,” who couldn’t lead and govern among themselves.
It elicits the question: Why does the US continue to meddle with our national affairs? Are we still the unkempt “little brown brothers” to them?
Sadly, however, the prejudice cuts both ways, as Filipinos can be very discriminating people, too. Entrenched in our culture and education is the notion that indigenous peoples are not our equals, that they are lesser beings, and this has made them even more vulnerable to land-grabbing, displacement and acts of violence.
We live in a country that raises children to be wary of Aetas because they bring curses and usog, to still ask if Mangyan do indeed have tails, and stereotype the Ati and Badjao as thieves.
When photos of the beautiful Igorot “Carrot Man” and “Badjao Girl” went viral on social media, people applauded, dropping backhanded complements saying the indigenous peoples were “giving high-bred models a run for their money.”
Hello? “High-bred models”? We live in a country that condones casual discriminating remarks about indigenous people. The Igorot and Badjao people are of the earth and the sea, and they share more of our ancestors’ blue blood then most people will ever have flowing through their brains. Bow in the presence of maharlika royalty.
On Thursday, more than 3,000 indigenous peoples from both northern and southern Philippines converged in Manila and took to the streets to echo the plight of the national minorities for Lakbayan ng Pambansang Minorya. They call for the rights to their ancestral lands, seek self-determination and air out the need to end of militarization in their homes.
It’s an interesting contrast and coincidence that on the culmination night of Lakbayan in Manila, here in Iloilo was a screening of Bontoc Eulogy. The latter an account of how white settlers “caged” tribal Filipinos for their own amusement, the former a display of the strength and determination of the indigenous people, celebrating their unique and vivid culture, breaking their chains, and rallying to be heard.
The indigenous peoples of the Philippines are the true bloodline our country. Through them we can trace the history of our ancestors. They prove we were here before white settlers trampled our shores, declaring us their colony and claiming our lands. To this day they have conquered all adversity, survived and persevered.
An old IP proverb goes: “No person owns the land. It belongs to all of us. We do not say the land belongs to us, but rather we belong to the land.”
Bow in the presence of maharlika royalty./PN
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